Starting Oct. 1, fire service — or ambulance service — will take longer to reach Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes. That’s because Boynton Beach, which provides fire rescue services to both towns, will be removing from operation one of its two emergency vehicles now run out of… Continue

On the verge of a trial and already having spent thousands on legal fees, the owners of Splashdown Divers and the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency agreed late last month that their money would be better spent not paying lawyers. The CRA agreed to a settlement… Continue

The U.S. Census Bureau says the seaside mobile home town of Briny Breezes has precisely 800 homes. Everyone in town knows that’s wrong by several hundred. Just walk down the street and count them: 484. The bureau was much closer to the actual number in 2000, when it declared 534 mobile homes were in town. So the Town Council has challenged the census count of housing. “We will be in touch with the University of Florida regarding the current… Continue

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement dismissed 2009 allegations against former Ocean Ridge Police Officer David Cazzolli that he stalked his former girlfriend, according to FDLE spokeswoman Kristi Gordon. The claim was one of two brought by the Ocean Ridge Police Department against Cazzolli, who was fired in July 2009 following an internal investigation. The FDLE dismissed a second claim, offense against intellectual property. But it was replaced with an allegation of misuse… Continue

No joy marked the advisory approval of what could become the town’s newest subdivision — six homes on the 6-acre-plus Spence estate.“I would recommend with great sadness that we approve the demolition permit,’’ Architectural Review and Planning Board member Charles Frankel III said before the panel voted 3-0 to send the plat plan on to the Town Commission for final consideration.“I hate to see the property go, to be honest with you. I wish that somebody… Continue

Residents of condos at the St. Andrews Club just north of town will benefit from Gulf Stream’s underground utilities project without spending a dime. Town commissioners decided Sept. 15 to pull $450,000 from reserves to prepay Gulf Stream’s portion of the project, which includes assessments for six town-owned parcels and the share St. Andrews residents would pay if they lived inside town limits instead of in Boynton Beach. The St. Andrews Club condos are… Continue

Lantana residents will see a slight increase in water rates starting in October. A customer who uses 6,000 gallons of water/wastewater per month will see his bill increase by $1.23 or 1.8 percent. Someone who uses 10,000 gallons per month would see his bill go up by $1.65. The increase is expected to raise $40,000. According to town’s code of ordinances, all rates established by fees and charges are adjusted annually. At its Sept. 12 town meeting, most council members… Continue

Gulf Stream town officials are taking off the gloves in their quest to recover some of the tax money property owners in the annexed pocket paid Palm Beach County for 2011. Mayor William Koch Jr. asked County Commissioner Steven Abrams in a Sept. 14 letter for more help getting $19,469 reimbursed by Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue for services from March 15, the date of the annexation, through Sept. 30. Koch wants $21,728 from the Sheriff’s Office for the… Continue

The on-again, off-again breakwater project to protect South Palm Beach’s eroding shoreline is back on the drawing board six months after Palm Beach County officials had declared it so much scrap paper. “Finally, I have some good news,” Leanne Welch, a supervisor in the county’s environmental resources management department, told the Town Council Sept. 20. “We have the go-ahead to restart the environmental impact study.” The study was halted in March… Continue

Health-care insurance checkups are turning up substantial savings for at least two coastal municipalities as they near completion of this year’s budget process. Lantana saved $230,000 by switching employee health insurance from Blue Cross/Blue Shield to a comparable Aetna plan. And Ocean Ridge hopes to save $50,000. Insurance broker Dave Adams, a Hypoluxo Island resident, pitched both the towns, informing them he could… Continue